If your goal in Vintage is to win big cash prizes or other filthy lucre, you couldn’t choose a more statistically successful weapon than Tezzeret. In my most recent Vintage metagame report, multi-color Tezzeret Control had won an absurd 50 percent of Vintage tournament during that time period.
Two months after the release of Shards, I took a look at every single Tezzeret list in the world that had made Top 8 in a Vintage tournament of more than 17 players (i.e. that cut to Top 8), and compiled the results. I then took those results, and stitched together a composite list based upon the card choices that were most successful out of all of those tournament results.
Two months later, and half the distance from the printing of Tezzeret from my last Tezzeret Analysis, we find that – incredibly enough – there have been exactly the same number of Tezzeret lists that have made Top 8, 37 multi-color control Tezzeret lists, as there were in my last report.
In this article, I will take a look at those lists and see what the composite Tezzeret build looks like today. Then I will highlight the differences from the composite list of two months ago. Finally, I will combine the lists, and show you the composite Tezzeret build that reflects every Tezzeret list that has ever made a Vintage Top 8.
My analysis of the composite list and a comparison to the previous composite list uncovers some revealing trends about where Tezzeret is heading, and where it might go from here.
The tournament data can be accessed in the appendix. Here are the results:
Unanimous (or Virtually Unanimous) Card Choices
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Black Lotus
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sol Ring
1 Tezzeret The Seeker
4 Force of Will
3 Mana Drain (36/37)
1 Vampiric Tutor (36/37)
1 Time Walk (36/37)
1 Voltaic Key (36/37)
1 Underground Sea (36/37)
1 Flooded Strand (36/37)
1 Time Vault (36/37)
1 Brainstorm (35/37)
2nd Polluted Delta (35/37)
1 Tinker (35/37)
1 Tolarian Academy (35/37)
2nd Flooded Strand (34/37)
2 Thirst For Knowledge (34/37)
2nd Underground Sea (34/37)
1 Yawgmoth’s Will (34/37)
The unanimous/near unanimous card choices are almost identical to the results last time around. The only major difference is that Tinker is now almost every list. The last time around it was only in 30 of the 37 lists. This should not be surprising. Tinker is an automatic inclusion.
1 Island (33/37)
3rd Thirst For Knowledge (33/37)
2nd Island/Snow-Covered Island (32/37)
1 Fact or Fiction (32/37)
4th Mana Drain (32/37)
1 Mana Crypt (32/37)
1 Mystical Tutor (32/37)
1 Sensei’s Divining Top (32/37)
Now we observe some major shifts. Mystical Tutor, Fact or Fiction, and Top appeared in much fewer decklists in the last set of results. Specifically, they had appeared in 25, 24, and 28 of 37 possible decklists respectively. Similarly, Merchant Scroll jumped from appearing in 28 to 31 decklists out of a possible 37.
1 Merchant Scroll (31/37)
These shifts, although not terribly significant, do signal that consensus is building among the core components of a Tezzeret build. It’s interesting that Fact or Fiction has acquired such a prominent spot, outperforming Gifts Ungiven. In virtually every single Mana Drain based deck for the last couple of years, Fact or Fiction has been far behind Gifts Ungiven in terms of usage. The fact that Fact is being so highly utilized in Tezzeret signals to me that Tezzeret pilots are employing a genuine control strategy, where card advantage matters as much, if not more, than pure card celerity.
1 Gifts Ungiven (30/37)
1 Mana Vault (30/37)
1 Tormod’s Crypt (30/37)
Tormod’s Crypt has witnessed a huge spike, almost a doubling in its numbers. In the last report, Tormod’s Crypt only appeared in only 11 out of 37 lists. It’s now in a super majority of all lists. This is the first major change. Tormod’s Crypt has become a permanent addition to the Tezzeret maindeck.
1 Echoing Truth (29/37)
Echoing Truth continues to be the bounce spell of choice for Tezzeret lists. What’s interesting to me is that Tezzeret decks are only running one bounce spell maindeck for the most part, and it’s this one. In contrast, Gifts decks ran two bounce spells. This suggests that Tezzeret is probably weaker than it even looks to Null Rod and Chalice of the Void.
1 Darksteel Colossus (29/37)
Darksteel Colossus’s role in the Tezzeret list appears to have grown even more important. In the last dataset, DSC was only in 21 of 37 lists. It’s simply too powerful to omit on account of the ‘oops I win’ factor.
4th Thirst For Knowledge (28/37)
Thirst For Knowledge continues to be the draw engine of choices by a very large margin. Every single other engine is a fringe competitor compared to Thirst. It is the most common card in the deck after Force of Will and Mana Drain.
3rd Polluted Delta (24/37)
1 Volcanic Island (23/37)
The levels of Red splash have remained constant. Red is the tertiary color for this deck.
3rd Flooded Strand (22/37)
3rd Island/Snow-Covered Island (22/37)
3rd Underground Sea (22/37)
1 Tropical Island (20/37)
This is a big difference from the previous dataset. A solid majority of Tezzeret lists now run Green as a fourth color splash. In the previous data set, only a third of the Tezzeret builds ran Green. The power of Green for the sideboard options it offers has made the standard Tezzeret list four colors.
1 Misdirection (20/37)
Misdirection has similarly spiked in frequency. It jumped over 10% in usage. A singleton Misdirection is becoming a staple for the Tezzeret disruption package, no doubt partly on account of its random “steal Ancestral Recall” utility.
2nd Tezzeret The Seeker (18/37)
There we have it. This deck’s namesake is a singleton in a majority of decklists. This shift is more pronounced than I would have anticipated. It suggests that Tezzeret, while important and useful, is mostly an accessory to the Time Vault combo rather than an essential ingredient. It also correlates with the increasing incidence of Darksteel Colossus, which suggests that the pilots of this archetype realize the importance of diversifying their threats.
1 Library of Alexandria (18/37)
To be honest, I expected a big jump in the number of Libraries as we saw with Gifts, Fact, Mystical Tutor, and Tormod’s Crypt. Library of Alexandria fits the deck’s general strategy very well. I think the reason we have not seen a big increase in its usage is that Tezzeret players are increasingly moving from three- to four-color and even five-color builds.
1 Regrowth (18/37)
This card has seen a giant spike in its usage. This is not surprising. Regrowth is a card that is most powerful in control decks. In addition, it is very powerful the more play Gifts Ungiven and Fact or Fiction see. Both cards are being used more. Finally, with the presence of Green in a majority of lists, this card should not be far behind.
1 Ponder (17/37)
Ponder remains at the fringes, which is somewhat surprising to me since Gifts Ungiven and Fact or Fiction are essentially in every Tezzeret list.
2nd Volcanic Island (15/37)
2nd Tropical Island (15/37)
1 Duress (14/37)
Duress has fallen somewhat from last time around. I’m not sure why, but the increase in the number of colors in the deck may have put more pressure on the decks manabase, making it less beneficial to search up early Underground Sea to play Duress.
4th Polluted Delta (13/37)
1 Engineered Explosives (12/37)
1 Thoughtseize (12/37)
2nd Duress (10/37)
1 Lotus Petal (9/37)
1 Ancient Grudge (9/37)
4th Island/Snow-Covered Island (8/37)
2nd Thoughtseize (8/37)
1 Academy Ruins (7/37)
2nd Misdirection (7/37)
1 Trinket Mage (6/37)
1 Sundering Titan (6/37)
2nd Sensei’s Diving Top (6/37)
1 Ancient Grudge (5/37)
1 Fire/Ice (5/37)
5th Island (5/37)
3rd Duress (4/37)
4th Flooded Strand (4/37)
1 Gorilla Shaman (4/37)
2 Goblin Welder (4/37)
2 Intuition (4/37)
1 Rebuild (4/37)
1 Red Elemental Blast (4/37)
1 Transmute Artifact (4/37)
2nd Ancient Grudge (3/37)
4 Accumulated Knowledge (3/37)
3 Dark Confidant (3/37)
1 Imperial Seal (3/37)
1 Impulse (3/37)
1 Mindslaver (3/37)
1 Negate (3/37)
1 Rebuild (3/37)
1 Repeal (3/37)
1 Skeletal Scrying (3/37)
1 Strip Mine (3/37)
2 Trinket Mage (3/37)
1 Triskelavus (3/37)
3rd Volcanic Island (3/37)
2nd Voltaic Key (3/37)
3rd Goblin Welder (2/37)
1 Duplicant (2/37)
1 Wipe Away (2/37)
3rd and 4th Trinket Mage (2/37)
3rd Thoughtseize (2/37)
1 Chain of Vapor (2/37)
1 Swamp (2/37)
2nd Repeal (2/37)
4th Dark Confidant (2/37)
1 Seat of the Synod (2/37)
1 Pithing Needle (2/37)
1 Crucible of Worlds (2/37)
1 Pyroblast (2/37)
1 Rushing River (2/37)
2nd and 3rd Negate (2/37)
1 Tundra (2/37)
Singletons:
1 Bayou
1 Commandeer
1 Counterbalance
1 Courier’s Capsule
1 Cryptic Command
1 Darksteel Citadel
3 Disrupt
4th Duress
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Grindstone
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
2nd and 3rd Impulse
3-4th Intuition
1 Lim-Dul’s Vault
1 Magus of the Future
3 Mind Twist
2 Painter’s Servant
1 Platinum Angel
3 Reconstruction
1 Relic of Progenitus
3rd Repeal
2-4th Seat of the Synod
3rd Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Tendrils of Agony
4 Thoughtcast
2nd Transmute Artifact
1 Triskelion
3rd Tropical Island
4th Volcanic Island
1 Wasteland
Sideboard
1 Tormod’s Crypt (25/37)
Tormod’s Crypt remains, far and away, the most popular sideboard card.
1 Red Elemental Blast (19/37)
1 Duress (19/37)
2nd Duress (15/37)
1 Yixlid Jailer (14/37)
2nd Tormod’s Crypt (13/37)
2nd Red Elemental Blast (13/37)
1 Hurkyl’s Recall (13/37)
1 Extirpate (12/37)
1 Pithing Needle (12/37)
2nd Extirpate (10/37)
1 Pyroblast (10/37)
1 Trinisphere (10/37)
1 Pyroclasm (9/37)
2 Tarmogoyf (9/37)
1 Krosan Grip (9/37)
1 Engineered Explosives (9/37)
There are five potential cards to fill the last five slots. Since Green is seeing more and more usage, I will include the two Goyfs as a token inclusion of more Green spells.
3rd Tarmogoyf (8/37)
1 Rack and Ruin (8/37)
2nd Yixlid Jailer (8/37)
1 Ingot Chewer (8/37)
3rd Duress (8/37)
1 Relic of Progenitus (7/37)
3rd Extirpate (6/37)
2nd Krosan Grip (6/37)
2nd Pithing Needle (6/37)
1 Platinum Angel (6/37)
2 Trygon Predator (6/37)
2nd and 3rd Ingot Chewer (5/37)
3 Ethersworn Canonist (5/37)
4 Oath of Druids (5/37)
2 Empyrial Archangel (5/37)
1 Gaea’s Blessing (5/37)
2nd Pyroclasm (4/37)
3rd Yixlid Jailer (4/37)
3rd Tormod’s Crypt (4/37)
4th Tarmogoyf (4/37)
4th Duress (4/37)
3rd Red Elemental Blast (4/37)
4 Leyline of the Void (4/37)
1 Spell Snare (4/37)
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Darkblast (3/37)
2nd Hurkyl’s Recall (3/37)
1 Massacre (3/37)
3rd Pyroclasm (3/37)
2nd Rack and Ruin (3/37)
1 Razormane Masticore (3/37)
2nd and 3rd Spell Snare (3/37)
3rd Trygon Predator (3/37)
1 Tundra (3/37)
1 Vedalken Shackles (3/37)
1 Control Magic (2/37)
2nd Engineered Explosives (2/37)
1 Executioner’s Capsule (2/37)
1 Mind Twist (2/37)
3 Propaganda (2/37)
2nd Relic of Progenitus (2/37)
2 Smother (2/37)
1 Stifle (2/37)
2nd Sower of Temptation (2/37)
2 Thoughtseize (2/37)
Singletons:
4 Dark Confidant
1 Divert
1 Duplicant
1 Empty the Warrens
3 Energy Flux
1 Fire/Ice
2 Firespout
4th Propaganda
2 Salvage Titan
2 Tropical Island
4th Yixlid Jailer
Composite Tezzeret Control
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
3 Polluted Delta
3 Underground Sea
3 Flooded Strand
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Island
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Tropical Island
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Thirst For Knowledge
2 Tezzeret The Seeker
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Brainstorm
1 Tinker
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Ponder
1 Misdirection
1 Echoing Truth
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Regrowth
1 Duress
Sideboard:
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Duress
1 Yixlid Jailer
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
2 Extirpate
1 Pithing Needle
1 Trinisphere
2 Tarmogoyf
In summary, these are the most significant trends:
1) Tormod’s Crypt and Sensei’s Divining Top are now standard parts of the Tezzeret armory. Tormod’s Crypt saw a huge spike in its usage, from being used in only a handful of Tezzeret lists to being in a huge majority of builds. This makes sense on account of its own power, but also given the small bump and consolidation in the Tezzeret draw engine.
When we last looked at Tezzeret, there was a clear majority using Thirst For Knowledge as the draw engine, but there are a significant number of builds running alternative draw engines. That trend has faded and the number of alternative engines being run has dropped, and the number of Thirsts being run rose correspondingly. This is now pretty much a Thirst For Knowledge deck, and there is really no debating it from a statistical perspective.
2) There is a lot less debate and confusion regarding what goes into a standard Tezzeret list. In the first data set, it was clear that people were still exploring. Cards like Gifts Ungiven, Fact or Fiction, and Mystical Tutor, cards that were merely popular before, have jumped from the 65% level to the 80% level. There is really no question now that these cards belong. However, Ponder is still hanging out on the fringe along with Library of Alexandria.
3) Tezzeret is increasingly a singleton in its own deck. Most Tezzeret players who have made Top 8 have decided to run only one Tezzeret. This is a huge shift from the last dataset. The second Tezzeret still makes the composite list, but if things trend as they have been, that won’t be true next time.
4) Tezzeret is now officially a four-color deck. A majority Tezzeret control lists are now four colors, splashing Green or White. A few are even five colors. We saw some indication that Tezzeret was trending this way in the last dataset, but it’s now official. I think this is the reason why more lists are not running Library of Alexandria. As good as they card is, they are using that spot to splash a fourth color. Interestingly, Luis Scott-Vargas and others seem to prefer the White splash. We’ll see how that plays out. Balance could be a very powerful addition to this deck if more and more players use White.
5) The major sideboard differences are fewer anti-Workshop spells. Neither Ingot Chewer nor Rack and Ruin now make the composite list. Trinisphere, however, is now a standard addition. At the same time that Tezzeret lists are cutting cards for the Ichorid and Workshop match, they are beefing up their resources for their mirror.
What is most interesting is that the Tezzeret pilots who played the green splash split their choices. Half ran the Oath of Druids package, and slightly more than that ran Tarmogoyfs. It will be interesting to see if that split continues or if the Green sideboard choices consolidate.
So you can see it, here are the differences between the two composite lists:
Maindeck:
+1 Regrowth
+1 Tormod’s Crypt
+1 Tropical Island
-1 Duress
-1 Thoughtseize
-1 Volcanic Island
Sideboard:
-1 Yixlid Jailer
-1 Ingot Chewer
-1 Rack and Ruin
-1 Pyroclasm
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Trinisphere
+2 Tarmogoyf
Now, what if we were to combine the two data sets?
Building a Composite Composite Tezzeret
74/74 (Unanimous choices)
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
4 Force of Will
1 Polluted Delta
1 Mox Pearl (73/74)
1 Time Vault (73/74)
1 Time Walk (73/74)
3 Mana Drain (73/74)
1 Underground Sea (73/74)
2nd Polluted Delta (72/74)
1 Vampiric Tutor (72/74)
1 Yawgmoth’s Will (71/74)
2nd Underground Sea (71/74)
1 Flooded Strand (71/74)
1 Brainstorm (70/74)
1 Voltaic Key (69/74)
1 Tolarian Academy (68/74)
2nd Flooded Strand (68/74)
1 Island/Snow-Covered Island (67/74)
2 Thirst For Knowledge (66/74)
2nd Island/Snow-Covered Island (66/74)
1 Tinker (65/74)
3rd Thirst For Knowledge (65/74)
1 Mana Crypt (64/74)
4th Mana Drain (63/74)
1 Sensei’s Divining Top (60/74)
1 Mana Vault (59/74)
1 Merchant Scroll (59/74)
1 Mystical Tutor (57/74)
1 Fact or Fiction (56/74)
1 Echoing Truth (55/74)
1 Gifts Ungiven (52/74)
4th Thirst For Knowledge (52/74)
1 Darksteel Colossus (50/74)
3rd Island/Snow Covered Island (49/74)
2nd Tezzeret (48/74)
1 Volcanic Island (47/74)
3rd Underground Sea (46/74)
3rd Polluted Delta (43/74)
1 Tormod’s Crypt (41/74)
3rd Flooded Strand (38/74)
1 Library of Alexandria (35/74)
1 Misdirection (34/74)
1 Tropical Island (33/74)
1 Duress (31/74)
1 Ponder (31/74)
2nd Volcanic Island (29/74)
1 Regrowth (26/74)
1 Engineered Explosives (25/74)
1 Thoughtseize (25/74)
2nd Tropical Island (22/74)
From there on out, the composite numbers are too low to worth aggregating.
What about the sideboard?
1 Tormod’s Crypt (49/74)
1 Red Elemental Blast (38/74)
1 Duress (34/74)
2nd Red Elemental Blast (29/74)
1 Hurkyl’s Recall (28/74)
1 Extirpate (27/74)
2nd Duress (27/74)
1 Yixlid Jailer (27/74)
1 Pithing Needle (25/74)
2nd Tormod’s Crypt (24/74)
2nd Extirpate (23/74)
1 Pyroclasm (19/74)
1 Rack and Ruin (19/74)
1 Pyroblast (18/74)
1 Engineered Explosives (17/74)
1 Trinisphere (16/74)
1 Ingot Chewer (15/74)
2nd Yixlid Jailer (15/74)
Creatures (1)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (16)
Spells (41)
- 1 Sensei's Divining Top
- 1 Brainstorm
- 4 Mana Drain
- 1 Vampiric Tutor
- 1 Mystical Tutor
- 1 Yawgmoth's Will
- 1 Duress
- 4 Force of Will
- 1 Mana Vault
- 1 Sol Ring
- 1 Regrowth
- 1 Demonic Tutor
- 1 Time Walk
- 1 Ancestral Recall
- 1 Mana Crypt
- 1 Time Vault
- 1 Gifts Ungiven
- 1 Merchant Scroll
- 4 Thirst for Knowledge
- 1 Echoing Truth
- 1 Misdirection
- 1 Tinker
- 1 Voltaic Key
- 1 Black Lotus
- 1 Fact or Fiction
- 1 Mox Emerald
- 1 Mox Jet
- 1 Mox Pearl
- 1 Mox Ruby
- 1 Mox Sapphire
- 1 Tormod's Crypt
- 1 Ponder
The super composite Tezzeret list is identical to the December/January Composite list. Once again, I am struck by how playable these composite lists appear. Sometimes, the composite lists do not resemble an actual list. This is because if a solid plurality of players are playing one variant and another near plurality is playing another variant, then you have a screwy composite, much like was the case when I tried to make a composite Stax list a few years ago
I do think there is one big difference between the composite lists and what people are actually playing, and it illustrates what I mean by screwy composites. The number of fetchlands in the composite is higher than what most players are running because there is a split between players who run more Flooded Strands and those that run more Polluted Deltas, so both are overrepresented in the final list. If I were to tweak the list for tournament play, I would cut a fetchland for a 2nd Volcanic Island or a 2nd Tropical Island, depending on which color you want to emphasize.
I think it is safe to say that we now have a very clear idea of what a standard Tezzeret deck in Vintage looks like. Its contours are clear, and they aren’t likely to change that much in the near future. The sideboard is the area of greatest variability, and it’s a volatile mixture.
Until next time…
Appendix:
1) Ryousei Kawai
2) Masayaki Ono
3) Jens Jager
4) Jason Jaco
5) Cesar Fernandez
6) Jamie Cano
7) Dave Lawrence
8) Andres Madruga
9) Thomas Irmler
10) Jose Alascio
11) David Garzon
12) Elias Ubeda
13) Pierre Liebiech
14) Sebastian Mucke
15) Frank Van Rjin
16) Goswin Zeeman
17) Paul Mastriano
18) Zoilo Marallag
19) Luis De Leon
20) Owen Turtenwald
21) James King
22) Bobby Graves
23) Tracy
24) Scoot Schauf
25) Mike Solymossy
26) Brian Fisher
27) Jimmy McCarthy
28) Derek Wocchinski
29) Chas Hinkle
30) Josh Potucek
31) Marc Lanigra
32) Marcus Barzen
33) Clay Baker
34) Jason Miller
35) Danny Friedman
36) Jake Kempfer
37) Mike Solymossy